Yuyado Izumi
3 stars

After booking, all of the property’s details, including telephone and address, are provided in your booking confirmation and your account.

Yuyado Izumi is set in Yamaga, 16.2 miles from Kumamoto and 28 miles from Saga. Free private parking is available on site.

The rooms are fitted with a flat-screen TV. Certain rooms feature a seating area where you can relax. You will find a kettle in the room. Yuyado Izumi features free WiFi throughout the property.

The nearest airport is Kumamoto Airport, 15.5 miles from Yuyado Izumi.

This property is a ryokan, which is a type of traditional Japanese Inn. Learn more

What is a ryokan?

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. They usually feature public baths, multi-course dinners, communal spaces where guests can relax, and rooms with woven-straw flooring and futon mats. Like hotels, a range of ryokans (from budget to luxury) is available. What originated centuries ago as a free rest house for long-distance travellers has evolved into a popular destination for relaxation in therapeutic mineral springs.

What are the major differences between a ryokan and a hotel?

Unlike a hotel, where the guest room is simply a place to turn in for the night, a ryokan is more than just an accommodation place to sleep. In Japan, many travellers journey long distances solely for the purpose of relaxing in a hot spring bath and feasting on a traditional multi-course dinner – thus making staying at a ryokan an experience in and of itself. These ryokans typically have Japanese-style rooms with woven-straw flooring and futon beds, instead of Western beds and carpeting. In addition, you remove your shoes at the entrance of the accommodation, or before you enter the room. Modern ryokan may serve buffet-style meals in a dining area, while a more traditional ryokan serves in-room dinners. Some ryokan rooms may come with a private bathroom, while others will only have a shared public bathroom.

What is a kaiseki meal?

Kaiseki is the culinary highlight at a ryokan, embodied in beautifully presented dishes that delight both the palate and the eyes. Each of the 10 to 15 dishes that make up the multi-course Japanese dinner is prepared in such a way that highlights the unique textures, colours, and flavours of the featured seasonal ingredients and local specialties. Served most commonly at special restaurants and ryokan, a traditional kaiseki dinner usually consists of bite-sized appetizers, fresh sashimi (raw fish), soup, grilled fish or meat, a hot pot dish, rice with miso soup, and a small dessert.

What is a yukata?

Yukata is a casual summer kimono typically made of light cotton. Many ryokans offer guests yukata robes during their stay. In some areas, it is common to see guests strolling through the neighbourhood in their yukata. The loose-fitting garment is perfect for relaxing and sleeping in.

How to wear a yukata

First, put your arms through the sleeves like you would with a shirt. Take the right side of the yukata and wrap it across your body. Then take the left side and wrap it over the right, making sure that the robe is levelled at your ankle. Pinning the yukata closed on the right side, wrap the sash around your waist a couple of times and then tie a bow. Generally, the bow is tied around the waist for women, and the hips for men.

What is a Japanese hot spring (onsen)?

Onsen (literally ‘hot spring’) is a term often used to refer to both the mineral-rich hot springs and the bathing facilities that house them. Whether the bath is public or private, gender-segregated or mixed, indoor or outdoor, soaking and unwinding in the soothing geothermal waters at an onsen is a millennia-old custom deeply embedded in Japanese culture.

Bathing procedures and etiquette

At a public bath – onsen or not – guests are expected to shed all their clothes in their respective changing rooms before entering the bathing area. As a common courtesy, once inside the bathing area, guests should wash and rinse their bodies thoroughly before quietly stepping into the hot water. Whether you relax in solitude or converse softly with others is up to you, but guests should always be mindful of others. Wash towels are often used to cover one’s private areas while walking around. However, note that you must not put towels in the water.

Why are tattoos not allowed?

While tattoos have become more popular among the youth of Japan, many Japanese people still associate them with outlaws and organized crime. Nowadays, not all businesses ban customers with tattoos, but you may still be refused admission to public baths and swimming pools. Small tattoos may be covered up using waterproof plasters, but keep in mind that each property has the final say on what’s acceptable.